bluewindow's Profile

My husband and I got married a few months ago. We have each lived on our own for quite a while, so we didn't register for things we already had and use. But did register for other items that needed to be replaced: pots, pans, place settings (ours were all chipped), etc. We registered at two places and initially, only registered for maybe 40 items. My mom was insistent that we register for more because people love gifting off of the registries and they like choices. So we did and was she right!

Having said that, for the wedding shower, I almost always buy what's on the registry. If there are only a few small items left, I will buy a gift card to said store. For the wedding though, I always give money.

On Saturday night, we're gong to a friend's housewarming party, so I may make some almond lace cookies for it. On Sunday, we are having people over to watch the Blackhawks game, so I am making a bourbon mango pulled pork with an apple cabbage cole slaw. And a friend is bringing margaritas. I love daytime parties!

Pickling for beginners!

My husband and I did a vegan, gluten free challenge during the month of February. In doing so, we made so many new things -- mainly because it's a pain to eat out on such a strict diet. It was great for new ideas and using veggies/grains I haven't used in a long time, if ever. Now, some of those recipes are in our recipe arsenal.

I had been craving French onion soup for the past two weeks, so I made a big pot of it last night. Even with having a couple of friends over, I have enough for leftovers -- for a few days!

We have the Couture set by Crate & Barrel. It was really important to my husband that it was large enough for his hands and slightly heavy. We wanted it dishwasher safe and had the nickel in it. We're quite happy with it.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/couture-flatware/f1514

I too have a Mario Batali Dutch oven that my mom got me 5 years ago. It is a workhorse and I love it. My husband and I use it for soups and stews all the time. There are no chips or dings on it as I try to take care of it the best I can. I won't buy another Dutch oven until this one breaks past the point of redemption.

I bought this knife a few years ago and I absolutely love it. I first heard about it from The Kitchn, actually. Inexpensive, but such a great knife.
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-8-Inch-Fibrox-Straight/dp/B008M5U1C2

So, I've been stalking and doing most of the January cure, but just haven't posted anything about it until now. I LOVE book. The e-reader is okay, but the tangible object is for me. I tend to keep most of my books forever but I also like to reread them.

However, I did do a purge a couple of months ago of books and DVDs. Since we were trying to save money for our honeymoon (now over with - sad face), I put a lot of them on Half.com. It's a website owned by eBay that lets you sell your media. You add your inventory and then wait until it sells. There's no limit of time. Some of my books have only sold for a couple of dollars, a few have sold for more than $10. Same with DVDs. I highly recommend it.

For recycling VHS tapes, there's a website called GreenDisk that will recycle it for you. My company has used them for that very purpose.

And finally, if you have Freecycle, you should use it for anything you want to get rid of, but not necessarily throw out. One person's trash is another person's treasure!

I make this chipotle sauce that is so good on tacos, salads, etc.
http://www.yumuniverse.com/2010/11/16/ancho-chipotle-sauce/